The EU4Health programme, established by Regulation (EU) 2021/522, was adopted as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to reinforce crisis preparedness in the EU. The pandemic highlighted the fragility of national health systems. The EU4Health programme will bring a contribution to the long-term health challenges by building stronger, more resilient and more accessible health systems.
Health is an investment and, with an initial €5.3 billion budget for the 2021-27 period, reduced to €4.4 billion following the revision of the 2021-2027 MFF, the EU4Health programme is an unparalleled EU financial support in the health area. EU4Health is a clear message that public health is a priority for the EU and it is one of the main instruments to pave the way to a European Health Union.
EU4Health brings an EU added value and complements the policies of the Member States to pursue four general objective representing the ambitions of the programme and ten specific objectives representing the areas of intervention:
- Improve and foster health
- Health promotion and disease prevention, in particular cancer
- International health initiatives and cooperation
- Protect people
- Prevention, preparedness and response to cross-border health threats
- Complementing national stockpiling of essential crisis-relevant products
- Establishing a reserve of medical, healthcare and support staff
- Access to medicinal products, medical devices and crisis-relevant products
- Ensuring that these products are accessible, available and affordable
- Strengthen health systems
- Reinforcing health data, digital tools and services, digital transformation of healthcare
- Enhancing access to healthcare
- Developing and implementing EU health legislation and evidence-based decision making Integrated work among national health system.
EU4Health will pave the way to a European Health Union by investing in urgent health priorities:
- Response to the COVID-19 crisis and reinforcing the EU’s resilience for cross-border health threats
- Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan
- Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe
And other areas such as:
- health systems’ digitalisation
- reducing the number of antimicrobial-resistant infections
- improving vaccination rates will also be boosted.
Adoption of the 2024 Work Programme On 5 December 2023, the European Commission adopted and published the Work Programme 2024 with a budget of €752.5 million to strengthen the European Health Union.
Summary of the Annex. WProgramme 2024
WProgramme 2024. Annex 1
More information
Under the EU4Health 2024 work programme, funding will allow an advance in the priority actions linked to the further development of the European Health Union and will expand our commitment to strengthen health resilience, promote the European Pharmaceutical Strategy and carry out the actions of the European Plan to Fight Cancer in order to support treatment, healthcare and quality of life for patients and their families; cross-border threats to health, health promotion and disease prevention including mental health and strengthening health systems and healthcare professionals.
This budget will also boost critical efforts in mental health, key advances in digital health, global health and international initiatives, as well as health emergencies arising from Russia's war against Ukraine.
To strengthen the important role civil organisations play in implementing EU health policies, the EU4Health programme continues the operating grants of €9 million in 2024 and will publish a call for Framework Partnership Agreements for 2025 to 2026.
Factsheet - EU4Health Work Programme 2024
Más información sobre el programa EU4Health
Funding & Tenders Portal
Calls are published by HaDEA
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